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Baltimore's police commissioner wants to team mental health professionals with police officers and deploy them on emergency calls involving disturbed individuals to calm tense situations and decrease the need to use force. "Having an officer and a clinician in a car, that's a big thing," Commissioner Anthony W. Batts told Baltimore's House delegation Friday in Annapolis. Batts gave a wide-ranging briefing on department developments while continuing to pledge his desire to transform the force into one that addresses social, economic and health issues driving crime while fighting it. Batts wants to form 18 teams made up of one police officer and one mental health...

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Baltimore's police commissioner wants to team mental health professionals with police officers and deploy them on emergency calls involving disturbed individuals to calm tense situations and decrease the need to use force."Having an officer and a...

Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts wants to pair up police officers and mental health professionals to proactively address mental health conflicts. Speaking to the Baltimore City Delegation in Annapolis on Friday, Batts said he is looking for...

Body cameras on officers won't solve every conflict between law enforcement and the communities they protect, but they are a step in the right direction, Baltimore City Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said Friday. Batts shared his thoughts on body...

In the early hours of a Sunday morning in March, Kianga Mwamba said, she was on the way home from a family gathering and about to stop to pick up some food for her children at the all-night restaurant Valentino's. But as she got near, she stopped to...

Baltimore's mayor and police commissioner say that one year after undertaking a broad reform plan for the Police Department, complaints against officers have fallen sharply along with a drop in crime.
The officials said the Police Department is a...

Officer Andrew Groman stood outside the car and ordered passenger Donte Jones to show his hands, police say, but the 19-year-old passenger wouldn't.
Groman warned Jones he would be hit with a Taser. Finally, police say, the officer fired the shock gun at...

Amid nationwide protests calling for greater police accountability, Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts announced Tuesday that he had been named to President Barack Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing. His words quickly landed on...

A Chicago-based security and risk management firm has been tapped by federal officials to lead the review of Baltimore's police force — a probe that comes amid allegations of brutality in that department and others around the nation.
Consultants from...

In the darkness of a December night, Stanley Gibson pulled his 1991 Cadillac Brougham into an apartment complex far from the Strip's glitzy casinos and phoned his wife. The Gulf War veteran, who was battling a worsening mental condition, said he was lost....

While hospitalized with a fractured ankle and broken jaw, John Bonkowski reached for his smartphone to find details about the man who beat him outside a parking garage near the Inner Harbor.
He typed "Officer Michael McSpadden" into...

A group of friends and family from Elkridge prepared for the Preakness as they have every year for decades. They packed tubs of Rice Krispies treats, shrimp salad, macaroni salad, cashews, soft drinks and a giant bag of Utz chips into their cars and...

City police plan to meet with management of a downtown club after two people waiting in line were shot early Monday — a shooting that capped a violent weekend in Baltimore and has revived discussions about security around city bars and clubs. Eight...